The A Team
by David Carner
Summary: Sarah Walker heads up the premier inter-agency spy team in the US. Joined by John Casey and Bryce Larkin, Sarah Walker has the career most dream of. So why does she find herself every night talking to the human intersect who lays in a coma? Charah
1. Ch 1, When Chuck Met Sarah

A/N: Me: I need to finish Ski School, Chuck V2, Collision, Life in a Small Town, If You Go-Hands to Heaven, and Family Volkoff.

Brain: …Hey, what would happen if the Intersect made Chuck comatose?

Me (holding my head in my hands): Son of a …

So this is where we are. Yay? Nay? You guys tell me. There's lots still in the pipeline being beta'd but I REALLY need to finish Ski School.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck

* * *

She stood in the shower, letting the hot water cascade over her. She had given up scrubbing her hands, because they were clean; well, clean _physically_. She had blood on them, blood that wasn't visible to the naked eye, but the blood was there nonetheless. She had taken the shot, and yes, she had saved lives. While she knew the scales were tipped in her favor – the lives she had saved from killing those that absolutely deserved to be killed – her heart was heavy. Her soul was being crushed, and she didn't know how much more she could take.

She ran her hands through her hair, and found herself thinking about Bryce. They had been lovers. She supposed they were still friends, if you could have friends in the CIA. She knew he had her back, out in the field. But outside the field…

"_Nice shot," he had said, the proud look he got when they had done wel__l p__lastered all over his face. "Wanna go out and celebrate__?__" She hadn't meant to give him a dirty look, but she had just killed someone. "Whoa, whoa," he said__,__ raising his hands. "You've made it loud and clear that we aren't like that __anymore__. Right?" She glared at him. "Right," he said, swallowing. "Geez, Walker, we won__. W__hat's with you?" He shook his head and walked off._

"_Why don't you make the pretty boy kill one of these creeps every once in a while?" Casey asked, walking up behind her. She turned to him__,__ a sad smile on __her__ face. "I mean, I can __pull the trigger, then__ go eat pancakes__. B__ut you, Walker. You still have a soul left."_

"_I don't __think__ that _he_ has," Sarah said with a shrug. "But I'm pretty sure you do as well."_

She wished she had Casey's ability to compartmentalize the killing of those that they did. She wished she had the ability to accept they were bad people, and killing them meant nothing. But she didn't. They were living, breathing beings. She was an assassin at times. She killed them quickly, quietly, without giving them a chance to defend themselves. Many times, they were unarmed. Many times, she was forced to look them in the eyes as she shot them, or hold their body as she slit their throat.

She let the sobs flow. Today was especially hard. The terrorist they had tracked had taken a young girl hostage. If Sarah hadn't taken the shot… but what she really sobbed for was the young girl. When the blood and brain matter spattered on her, she had screamed. Sarah knew that scream. It was a scream that was buried in her own soul, the sound of it slowly dying.

What was going to become of that little girl? Would she grow up, and be like Sarah? Did she really save that girl, or did she just send her down another road to a personal hell she'd have to live with daily?

Eventually the tears stopped, like they always did. She scrubbed her face one last time, and her hands again, still seeing the blood there that wasn't visible to the naked eye. She needed to talk to her therapist. The thought of that made her smile. She dressed quickly, and headed out her door and down the halls of Castle.

She _did_ like that they had their own headquarters, although why it was located in Burbank was anyone's guess. The living quarters were barely used; most everyone else had gotten an apartment outside of the building.

She liked it here.

She had access to a training facility, gun range, and Ellie and Devon lived here… and, obviously, Chuck. She headed down the hallways until she came to his room. She heard Ellie's low tones coming from inside through the open door.

"It didn't work," she murmured. Sarah looked into the room, and saw Ellie looking down at her phone.

"Ellie, everything okay?" Sarah asked. Ellie looked up, eyes wide, as she quickly stuffed her phone in her pocket. "Devon do – or not do – something?"

"No," Ellie said, shaking her head, and grinning at the younger woman. "He's fine… and I mean-"

"Okay, enough with you bragging about bagging the perfect guy," Sarah replied, laughing. "We know, we _know_."

"If you'd leave this bunker sometime, you might find someone of your own," Ellie said, giving her a pointed look. Sarah shook her head, a sad smile on her face. "Rough one?" Ellie asked, sympathy evident on her features.

"That little girl…" and she trailed off. Ellie closed the distance between them, and pulled her into a hug.

"You saved her life, and now she has a chance," Ellie replied. "And none of this crap about how you may have screwed up her life."

"You know me too well," Sarah muttered into her shoulder. After a minute, they pulled apart, Ellie's hands on Sarah's shoulders. "Probably shouldn't talk to him about this, huh?"

"Oh, oh no, you _should_," Ellie emphasized.

"Is it helping?"

Ellie shrugged. "I see more of his own brain activity when you or I talk to him, but a significant amount…" Ellie shook her head.

"How do you do it?" Sarah asked.

"He's my brother. If I don't watch out after him, who will?" Sarah gave Ellie a sad smile. "Now, don't stay up all night on your date."

"But he's perfect, he doesn't judge me," Sarah replied, grinning.

"He wouldn't if you were on an actual date," Ellie said, squeezing her hand. She turned back to the inside of the room. "Your girlfriend is here." Sarah smacked Ellie on the shoulder good-naturedly. "Try not to chat too much, she needs a listener tonight." Ellie turned back, grinning. Sarah gave her the hug this time. "You know, I can listen too," Ellie said, looking her in the eyes.

"I do," Sarah replied. "But you get enough in the report. You really don't want the details." Ellie squeezed her Sarah's hands, and walked out of the room.

"Hey, Chuck," Sarah said, getting a chair and rolling it over to the bed he was lying in. "You did good work today, we found the terrorist." She paused, tears forming in her eyes. "I killed him, but he was holding this little girl hostage." She sniffed, and wiped the tears that were falling.

"Chuck, the blood, the brain matter, it all splattered on her…" She began to cry. For ten minutes she cried, the entire time holding his hand. It never moved, but she felt something there like she always did.

"Okay, enough of that," she said wiping the tears away. "Did I ever tell you about Ryker and Molly?" She began to tell the story she had never told anyone in her entire life, and as she did, she felt a burden lift she never knew she had carried.

}o{

Her phone buzzed. Lifting her head from the pillow, she saw the clock. It was eight AM. Whoever had texted her had at least been kind enough to wait that long. She pushed the hair out of her face, and looked at her phone.

Any residual sleepiness vanished instantly. She stared at the text.

_Ryker's location _

There was a link included. Her thumb trembled as she clicked the link. A map pulled up, showing her where he was, and a list of known accomplices, and Ryker's movements for the past several days before.

She went back to the text, and saw it was a number she didn't recognize. Three little dots popped up like someone was typing.

_If you want, I know of a mission in the area and can fix it where this is a sub__-__mission._

She stared at her phone, and thought. Who could this be? Who else knew? There was only one person. Slowly, she typed in one word, then stared at the phone for a few seconds. She swallowed hard, and hit send.

_Chuck?_

Three dots popped up and when the words came up, she thought she would faint.

_Hey, Sarah. Nice to finally talk to you. Listen, I know this is a big ask, but could you keep this between us__?__ THEY don't know._

Sarah looked up. This had to be a dream. She grabbed a strand of hair and pulled it out, managing not to yelp at the pain. She looked down, finding the words still there. She took a deep breath.

"Don't freak out," she muttered to herself.

* * *

A/N: Yeah, I know back story is needed, one of my prereaders said it's not fluffy, but I ask you, it's me, isn't it? I don't think it would be very long both chapter wise and length of chapter. Who knows. Let me know.

Also, if you enjoy fanfic, come on over to the Chuck Fanfiction private group, where we talk about everything fanfiction related, I make a stupid amount of polls, and Joe and I argue about which Christmas movie is better. When you click the button there are three questions, please answer them. I'm the one who approves a lot of the requests so I have to know it's a real person, and not some bot. See you soon here and/or on the Facebook page.


	2. Ch 2, Who Pays The Cell Phone Bill

A/N: ….30 reviews!? WOW! Thank you! So, for those that didn't know, life got weird about the time I put up the first chapter. 95% of things straightened out, the other 5%…it will be fine. I feel bad for starting this and just letting it hang out there. This won't be very long at all, it was never meant to be. I originally thought between 4-8 chapters. We'll see. A lot of questions last time, I'm not sure of how many answers will get this chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck.

* * *

Sarah walked out of her room quickly, and headed down the hallway, glancing around. Her phone pinged, and she looked down at it.

_Are you okay? Your heart rate is spiking._

She stared at her phone, in shock.

_You have a smart phone, it measures your heartrate__. I__'m not a stalker or anything._

She stopped dead in her tracks, her lips trembling, trying to stop the laughter in this ludicrous situation.

"Do I just talk to you?" she asked.

_Sure, but I wouldn't recommend doing so in the hallway__. T__hey're already worried about you enough as it is._

"What does that mean?"

_Sarah, come on, you talk to me all the time, the guy who can't talk back. You come in and tell me all of your problems, because you know I'm safe._

She swallowed and began walking again. This couldn't be happening. This was some kind of trick. If this were true… this was some kind of far-out sci-fi, and that stuff didn't happen. She felt betrayed, knowing there could be only one person behind this. The person she thought was her friend. Sarah turned the corner and saw exactly who she was looking for. There was Ellie glaring at her phone. "You did what?" Ellie hissed at it.

"Who are you talking to?" Sarah asked.

Ellie looked up at Sarah, panic covering her face. "No one," she began, and her phone made an incoming text noise.

"Do you need to get that, so you can get your story straight?" Sarah asked. Ellie stared at her. "What is this, some kind of crazy stunt? Are you trying to get me thrown off the team?"

"What? No!" Ellie replied. "It's… you wouldn't understand."

"You're sick, you know that? SICK!" Sarah yelled. "Pretending to be him to get to me, to make them think I'm crazy! What, do you have some kind of recording device in here? Where is it?"

"He's talking to you," Ellie said softly. She looked over at the bed, at her brother. "Chuck… why?"

"Don't play this game, Ellie. Tell me the truth, what have you done?"

Ellie turned to Sarah, tears in her eyes. "I screwed up a formula in the Intersect, it… it melted his brain, or so I thought," Ellie said, tears in her eyes. "It's like his brain is caught in this loop, and he's stuck."

"What?" Sarah asked, stunned at what she was hearing.

"I-I… I did this," and with that Ellie began to bawl. She sank to her knees. The anger, the rage, it left her. If she was being conned, then damn it, that made Ellie Bartowski the best con artist ever. Sarah went to her, sank down beside her, and held her. "He's a vegetable because of me," she said softly through her tears. Her phone pinged. "Not now, Chuck," Ellie groaned. Sarah couldn't help herself and looked at her phone. She read what it said, and snorted. "What?" Ellie asked, wiping at her eyes.

"Potato or carrot?" Sarah read. Ellie chuckled.

"God, I hate him," she said grinning at the prone body in the bed. She glanced over at Sarah. "I guess I owe you an explanation, of sorts."

"I guess," Sarah replied, not wanting to push Ellie right now.

"No, I do," Ellie said. "Come on, we'll have this talk in private. No listening in," she said, pointing back toward Chuck. Sarah's phone went off, and it was a meme of a person saluting.

}o{

They sat in the mess hall, both with a cup of coffee. "Best I can tell it started when Chuck was about eight years old. He downloaded the first Intersect accidentally. There were no side effects, no problems, no nothing."

"Accidentally?" Sarah asked.

"Dad had it loaded on his computer, went to do something, and when he came back, Chuck had pushed the button," Ellie explained.

"Why do I have no trouble believing that about him?" Sarah asked, shaking her head. "Okay, so then what happened?"

"Dad kept working on it, to make it bigger, better, a teaching tool. And then… Dad disappeared. Graham found us, as teenagers, Dad nowhere to be found. Instead of separating us or putting us into the foster system, he had Casey sent to stay with us, on the condition I kept working on the Intersect."

"Why you?" Sarah asked.

"I was already a big neuroscience nerd by then, and Chuck knew computers, so… it made a lot of sense," Ellie explained.

"Graham has a way of making things make sense with teens," Sarah groused. Ellie gave her a look that said, _we're talking about that later_.

"So, we completed it, ran every test in the world we could short of live humans, and found no errors," Ellie continued. "The CIA and NSA had a lot of candidates tested to see who would do well with the Intersect, but none of them scored high enough to make Chuck and I comfortable." She paused. "And then he did the most Chuck thing ever."

"He uploaded it himself, didn't he," Sarah stated. It wasn't a question. She had never really talked to him, but it just felt like that's what Chuck Bartowski would do.

Ellie nodded. "Something is wrong in the computer part of the code, the part I don't understand."

"Oh my God," Sarah said softly. "So literally, the only person who could fix it…" She trailed off.

"Is in a coma," Ellie continued. "After nothing woke him up, I did a bit of brain surgery, exploratory, and left some nodes hooked to his brain. He's in no danger," she said hurriedly, seeing the look on Sarah's face. "People would come in the room, talking to me about things, and one day, I noticed when they did, his brain waves would pick up. I eventually was able to get the brain waves to talk to a computer, and it gave me base coding, ones and zeros."

"Chuck was flashing, and… talking?"

"For lack of a better term, yes," Ellie said. "That's how we started using the Intersect, and eventually we found a way to let him 'see' files and pictures. The Intersect works, it's his body that's locked up."

"So, what about the texts?" Sarah asked.

"I started getting weird messages sometimes, again ones and zeros, so we made sure he had a computer hooked up that could translate what was being said. I literally explained to him what was happening. Chuck somehow used the Intersect to talk to the computer, so that the next time he texted, it was in words. I don't understand it all, but he found a way into the network, and that's how he's communicating."

"That's gotta save on your cell phone bill," Sarah groused. Ellie chuckled. "This is real?"

"Yes, and I told him not to, but… Sarah, he's worried about you."

"Wait… _what_?!"

"I know, I know, the guy in a coma is worried about you. He's worried… he's worried you're gonna do something stupid."

"Ellie, I'm not suicidal," Sarah countered.

"No, but you _are_ taking bigger and bigger risks," Ellie reminded her.

"I feel like I have nothing… or no one," she admitted. "I accepted a long time ago that I was going out in this job…"

"See, that, _that's_ what he's worried about. So that's why he told you about Ryker."

Sarah sat there a moment. "Figures, the one guy who gives a damn about me can't even talk to me."

"Are you crushing on my brother?" Ellie asked, grinning.

"How?" Sarah replied, laughing. "I've literally never talked to him."

"Oh, girl, you have poured your soul out to him… you've just never heard the words back. But he says you've felt it." Ellie shrugged. "Chuck's… Chuck's a romantic."

"He's right," she admitted softly. "Can we get him out of this mess?"

"Maybe," Ellie admitted. "I need to find my father. Only he can fix this… well, Chuck might be able to, but he's stumped as well. He keeps saying we should turn him off and turn him back on."

"You mean…" Sarah's eyes went wide, as Ellie nodded. "NO!" she said, a little more powerfully than she meant to. A slow smile came to Ellie's face.

"Wow, okay… sis," Ellie said with a grin.

"Now you're just being ridiculous," Sarah replied.

"Am I?" Ellie asked, getting up. "Go see your boyfriend, he's really excited to talk to you." She bent down, and the smile left her face. "If you hurt him, Sarah…"

"Ellie, how can I? He's in a coma!"

"You know damn well you can," Ellie said, straightening. "But I trust you with him. You've earned it." With that, Ellie turned and left, leaving Sarah sitting there.

"Good God, I have a boyfriend in a coma," she muttered.

* * *

A/N: Whoooo boy! Yes, it's out there….but I believe a computer in someone's head is as well. If you're gonna get technical…please don't. I'm doing the best I can on the why. Next time, Ryker, Orion, and Sarah and Chuck…go on a date (bets are being placed to see if this actually happens, because I never let them go on a date) See you sooner rather than later! Reviews, PMs, smokesignals, or whatever, always appreciated.

Also, if you enjoy fanfic, come on over to the Chuck Fanfiction private group, where we talk about everything fanfiction related, I make a stupid amount of polls, and Joe and I argue about which Muppet movie is better. When you click the button there are three questions, please answer them. I'm the one who approves a lot of the requests so I have to know it's a real person, and not some bot. See you soon here and/or on the Facebook page.


	3. Ch 3, A Different Kind of Relationship

A/N: You know, I write a LOT of AUs. There's a reason. I like to think about what would happen if I change this or that about a character. I say the name Sarah Walker, and you each go to a version of her in your head. My job, tell you enough so you know how to tweak your version. In this fic, everyone has made some assumptions. In the coming chapters, you're going to be surprised to know they are incorrect. That's okay, I wanted you to go with your assumptions. It lets me do some things. You'll see soon what I'm talking about. For any of you asking, how can Sarah fall for someone who has never talked to her, she claimed she fell for him in about 2 1/2 minutes in the show. I think I'm good.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck

* * *

Sarah sat there, quietly contemplating what she and Ellie had talked about. She looked up, seeing one of the many cameras that were mounted all around Castle. She grinned.

"How long have you been watching?" she asked softly. Her phone pinged.

_I've never done anything inappropriate, I swear! _came the answer. She chuckled at her phone. _I wasn't listening, I just saw that Ellie had left the cafeteria without you._

"Your sister thinks you're my boyfriend," she said softly. Her phone didn't ping, and she could almost feel him being uncomfortable. Which was crazy, because she was nowhere near his body, and you just can't _feel_ something like that… right? "I mean, she _might_ have a point."

_How's that__? _

She shook her head as she stood, and started walking toward his room. She didn't know if text could look nervous, but she felt like his did.

"I mean, I've told you all about me, Chuck. I've told you what scares me, I've told you what hurts me. I've told you about the great things in my life, and I've told you about the worst points. You're my confidant and I worry about you, about what you did to yourself. Which, by the way, why the hell did you do that to yourself?"

_I couldn't let someone else try it out!_

"Chuck, you shouldn't have!" she stared at a camera as she said it, showing it the seriousness of her face. "When I figure out how to get you out of this mess, you can never do something that foolish and reckless again. Do you understand me?"

The meme of the person saluting popped back on her phone.

She chuckled as she walked into his room and looked at him lying there, not moving. A sad smile occupied her lips, as her mind began to turn. He was in there, and by God, she was going to find a way to get him out. "How can I help?"

_Go to the drawer and put on the ear bud__. _

She looked up from her phone and stared at him. He couldn't… she stopped that thought. He was talking to her while in a coma. She wasn't about to doubt him now. She walked over, opened the drawer, put in the ear bud, and prepared for the robotic sound that would introduce her to Chuck Bartowski.

What she heard next nearly knocked her on her ass. "Hello, Sarah," said the rich human voice of Chuck Bartowski.

}o{

"This is weird," Sarah said softly, looking at his still body lying there.

"You should try it from this side," Chuck replied, making her chuckle. "You know I can't really see your face."

"Is there a camera I can plug in or move?" she asked, looking around.

"No, you're fine, but I need to have a serious conversation with you."

Sarah nodded.

"I can link a mission to where Ryker is, and link enough things to him that Beckman and Graham will order Ryker's termination."

"Please," Sarah said softly. "I need you to do that. I need Molly safe."

"Sarah, if I do this, it will be a _terminate with extreme prejudice_ order," Chuck explained. "He's done… a lot."

"Chuck, I know you're against killing," she began.

"Wait, wait, wait, you _know_?" he asked, mirth in his voice. "How do you _know_?"

She turned her head until she saw the camera, tilted her head to the side, and gave him a flat look, making him chuckle. "Don't make me say how," she said softly.

"Fine, but you can't take the shot."

"Chuck!"

"Sarah, I know what your job is, but…" He sighed, and while his body never moved, she felt the exasperation roll off him. "You've told me about the blood you feel is on your hands. You've told me about how this job is weighing on your heart, on your soul. You've told me all of this, you told me this when you didn't think I could hear. God, do you know how hard it was for me to keep quiet?"

"I'm beginning to get a pretty good idea," she said softly.

"Sarah, I'm not stupid. I'm pretty sure I'm going to go out like this."

"Do not say that," she said fiercely. "We will figure this out."

"Sarah, I have to be honest: I don't see a solution to my predicament. But you don't have to go out as well. You can have a life, that little girl can have a life, you can be happy. But if you kill Ryker, can you ever look at Molly, and not think about it?"

"I can look at her and not think about those men I killed rescuing her," Sarah retorted.

"Sarah, you killed them getting her out. This will be a straight up kill order. We both know that's different."

"Chuck, if I don't, he will never stop coming after her."

There was silence for a moment. "Fine, then don't take me out of your ear. I'm there for all of it."

"Chuck," she began.

"I won't release the info until you promise," he argued.

"How do you know I'll keep my promise to you?" Sarah asked.

"The same way you know I'll keep any promises to you," he replied.

There was silence for a minute.

"I'll do it," she said.

}o{

_Three days later_

"Red five, this is Red two," Chuck said over the ear bud.

"Exactly why am I Luke Solo?" Sarah asked.

"You wound me, Sarah. You wound me," Chuck replied. "You don't have to do this," he said softly. "You have a team that can go in there and take him."

"There's ten enemy combatants down there, Chuck. Both Graham and Beckman said the other nine are all suspected, and Ryker's death would serve warning to anyone that wanted to cross the CIA," Sarah reminded him.

"Sarah," he began.

"Chuck, I know what you're trying to do, but this is my life."

"I wish it wasn't," Chuck said softly.

"Well, figure out how to get out of that bed and help me change it," Sarah replied.

She sighed. "I'm sorry," she then said, softly. "That was uncalled for."

"No, it was," Chuck disagreed. "I forget myself."

"Chuck… I was in the wrong on that one," she insisted.

"So… _If_ I weren't in this bed," he began.

"Would your eyes be open?" she asked, grinning as she looked down the scope at her target.

"Oh, absolutely. And I'd probably staring at you, saying something stupid…"

"You say stupid, I say sweet," she cut in.

"…Like, would you go out with me?" he finished.

"Absolutely," she said, taking a deep breath. "My next mission is to figure out how to get you out of that coma."

"Sarah, what if it can't be done?"

"I've never failed a mission, Chuck Bartowski," Sarah replied. "And you're not about to be my first."

"Walker," came Casey's gruff voice. "Do you have him in the kill zone?"

"That's affirmative, Casey," Sarah replied, taking the ear bud in her other ear off mute. "Do I have a go?"

There was silence on the end. "Tell him you don't have the shot," Chuck said softly. She shook her head, knowing he couldn't see, but not able to answer. "Sarah, tell him!" he hissed.

She quickly muted Casey. "Chuck, I have to do this. I appreciate what you're trying to do. Just be there for me when I get back."

"I'm here for you now," Chuck said. She could hear the sadness in his voice.

"You have a go," Casey said.

"Copy that," Sarah answered.

"I'm here," Chuck told her, and then he was silent. Sarah took a deep breath, and let it out, regulating her breathing. She put her finger on the trigger, found Ryker in the scope, took another deep breath, and let it out slowly, counting her hearbeats, timing her trigger squeeze to come between beats.

Birds took flight into the night sky, the stillness interrupted by the crack of rifle fire. Back at Castle, as Ellie heard it all go down, she swore she saw Chuck's body flinch at the sound of the rifle's report.

* * *

A/N: Yes, you in the front row? You say I didn't actually write that Sarah shot him? Huh….Reviews, PMs, smokesignals, whatever, they're all appreciated.


	4. Ch 4, What About Bryce

A/N: Wait? What?

Disclaimer I don't own Chuck

* * *

_Six Months Ago_

"Sarah, you okay?" Bryce asked. She nodded and headed toward her room. "Do you-" he began, but she turned, and the glare she shot at him slowed him down. "-need me to do anything?" he asked, his voice trailing off.

"I just need some time, Bryce… I just need some time…" And with that, she headed toward her room, while Bryce looked up at the Castle lights.

He heard a voice and cocked his head, curious. He followed the voice until he got to the doorway of the Intersect's room… _Chuck's_ room. The kid… well, he was Bryce's age, but he'd been in a coma for a while now, and hadn't really experienced much of life. He listened at the door as he heard the female voice.

"Baby Brother, I should kick your ass," he heard Ellie say. "Devon and I are doctors, but we spend more time doing things that CCNAs would." Bryce heard the kindness in her voice, the teasing. "God, you idiot. Why did you do this? Why did you download this thing?"

Bryce heard heartbreak in her voice, and he didn't know if he could stand it. He seemed to have no feelings toward anyone, and he couldn't get close to Sarah, no matter how hard he tried. It wasn't her fault. He _knew_ it was his. He was scared. Scared she'd find him out. The CIA terrified him, and he could never let anyone know he wasn't a quintessential _James Bond_-type.

How the hell he was dating Sarah, he still couldn't say. In point of fact, he wasn't _dating_ Sarah. They did things together. But talk, go out on dates, get to know each other? That wasn't what she wanted. Or maybe she did, but she wanted to share, to hear his hopes, dreams, worries, and fears. Bryce couldn't let her in like that. The only way she'd talk to someone like that… and just like that, an idea struck him.

He cleared his throat loudly, so Ellie would hear him, and came around the corner. "Hey, just the person I was looking for," Bryce said, putting on his most charming smile. He was quickly hit with a level look from Ellie. He held his hands up in protest. "I come in peace, Ellie. I come for Sarah."

"What's wrong with Sarah?" Ellie asked.

"Another kill," Bryce said softly. "She had to assassinate another one."

"Far away or up close?" Ellie asked, trying to keep her voice even.

"Close up, but… does it matter?" Ellie shook her head. "Ellie… do I have patient-doctor privilege?" Ellie raised an eyebrow. "I'm serious."

She raised her hand. "Scout's honor." Bryce returned her previous flat look. "I swear, Bryce, I won't tell anyone, and I know it's not the scout sign."

"I'm worried about her," Bryce said softly. "She needs to talk to someone, and I… I can't do the _share_ thing, you know?"

"I don't, Bryce, but Devon and I are different than you and Sarah."

"Sarah and I aren't even in the same conversation with you two," Bryce said, hearing a ping on Ellie's cellphone.

She pulled out her phone, and Bryce swore she started to look at Chuck, but stopped herself. She put her phone back in her pocket, a look on her face Bryce couldn't read.

"Maybe I'll talk to her, see if she wants to come talk to Chuck," Ellie said as she put her phone away. "He's a hell of a listener." Bryce chuckled. "Maybe you should talk to him, too?"

Bryce waved his hand and started toward the door. "I'm fine, Ellie, it's her I'm worried about." And with that, he turned and left. He stopped a little way past the door, and crept back, making no sounds.

"You're crazy, you know that, right?" he heard Ellie say. Maybe she was spending too much time with her brother. Bryce shook his head and took off.

}o{

_Five months ago_

He had heard Sarah's door softly close, meaning she was back from her therapy session. He quietly made the way to his door, opened it, checked the hallway, and headed toward Chuck's room. He peaked his head inside, saw he was alone, and took a seat beside the bed, feeling the warmth from the chair's previous occupant.

"Buddy, today was messed up," Bryce said, shaking his head. He propped his feet up on the bed railing, making sure not to jostle Chuck. "Intercepted a container of refugees, probably all about to be sold off as sex slaves." Bryce shook his head. "Dude, I can't do this anymore." He sighed deeply.

"I did it, I broke up with her. I'm not what she needs, or deserves. I'm not strong enough to be the shoulder she needs, and I don't trust anyone enough to tell them what a joke I am as an agent. I went away from the scene and threw up for ten minutes, Chuck. Did you know they were anywhere from eight years-old to eighty?"

He put his feet down, dropped his head, and held it in his hands. "I'm the joke of the team. Sarah is amazing. Casey is everything you want in a soldier, and me… me, I'm in over my head."

He snorted. "I said I broke up with her, but the truth is, I didn't even have the heart to really do it. I told her we didn't have a relationship… we were just casual." Bryce winced. "She quickly told me that we didn't even have that relationship, anymore." He sighed again. "This is so hard, man. I should be pumped. I'm on the best inter-agency team ever, and I'm the freaking weak link, and everyone knows it."

He heard a throat being cleared by the door. He looked up and saw Casey walk in. "Casey, something wrong?"

"Just wondering what you're doing here, Larkin?"

"Ellie said that sometimes he responds to voices, so I was telling him how his intel saved a lot of lives tonight," Bryce explained. He stood up. "Getting tired, heading to bed."

Casey stood there, studying Chuck. "Do you think it helps?"

Bryce shrugged. "No idea, but if it does, don't we owe it to him, for all he's done for us? Don't we owe it to him for the greater good he's served?"

Casey nodded. Bryce walked off, noticing Casey heading for the chair beside Chuck's bed.

}o{

_Five days ago_

"Man, today was bad, Chuck," Bryce said to him, leaning back in the chair. "It was really bad. Sarah… Sarah had to make a hard shot, and it may have messed up that kid. If she didn't, the kid was dead." He sat there quietly. "I'm telling you, too many more of these…." He looked over at Chuck. "You know what, you have enough problems without this to worry about." He patted him on the shoulder, and left.

}o{

_Four days ago_

The briefing had just finished when Bryce's phone went off. He looked down at the number he didn't recognize.

_C__ome to Chuck's room, open the second drawer in the table beside his bed. Put in the earbud__._

Bryce shoved the phone in his pocket and did what he was told. He put the earbud in, and pushed the button to activate it.

"Oh good," he heard the voice say. "I was really afraid I was gonna have to text you to turn it on."

"Chuck?" Bryce asked, not having heard the voice before, but somehow knowing.

"Yeah, buddy. Listen, we have a problem."

}o{

_The Night of the Mission_

Bryce looked down at the rifle in front of him. He had used it in practice many times. He was certified on it. But actually using it to take someone's life…?

"Bryce, you don't have to," Chuck began.

"If I don't, what's going to happen to Sarah?" Bryce asked.

"How should I know? I can't even take a shower, much less sit up in bed," Chuck replied. Bryce chuckled over that one. "It doesn't mean you should take the shot for her," Chuck said softly.

"It doesn't, but I can, and if it will save her…" he trailed off.

"Walker," came Casey's gruff voice over the com in his other ear. "Do you have him in the kill zone?"

"That's affirmative, Casey," Sarah replied. "Do I have a go?"

There was silence for a few moments. "I gotta do this Chuck," Bryce said softly.

"You have a go," Casey finally said.

"Copy that," Sarah answered.

There were another few moments of silence. "I'm here," Chuck said. Bryce took a deep breath, and let it out, regulating his breathing. He put his finger on the trigger, found Ryker in the scope, took another deep breath, and let it out slowly, counting his heartbeats, timing his trigger squeeze to come between beats.

Birds took flight into the night sky, the stillness interrupted by the crack of rifle fire. Back at Castle, as Ellie heard it all go down, she swore she saw Chuck's body flinch at the sound of the rifle's report.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for….*exasperated sigh* Yes, you in the front row with your hand raised? You say I still haven't said who pulled the trigger? Huh….Reviews, PMs, smokesignals, whatever, they're all appreciated.


	5. Ch 5, Let's Have Pancakes

A/N: David, this sounds like…this sounds like you're still not gonna tell us who shot Ryker.

That would be correct.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck

* * *

_Six months ago_

Casey watched Walker walk away from Larkin, and Larkin sulk away looking defeated. He shook his head, and grunted in disgust. He knew they were… doing something – probably what he and Miller did when they had time – but Walker wasn't built like Miller, internally, and Larkin sure as hell wasn't like himself.

Casey wasn't crazy about this team at all; in fact, he felt like the fat kid that got picked last at dodgeball. The two spooks had their team, the Bartowski clan was another, and he was on his own, the token NSA member. Not that he couldn't handle it, but this… this all felt different. This felt like… a _family_.

He headed to the mess, and made up a batch of pancakes. Walker had taken out the target, again. He couldn't get a clean shot from far away, and she had perfectly figured out how to approach the target, to finish the mission as cleanly as possible.

Casey chewed on his food, comforted by the fluffiness of the pancakes. He idly wondered about the kid, the Intersect. Was he still in there? Was he just… bored? Casey watched the butter melt into his pancakes, and kept thinking about Bartowski. After a moment, he stood, emptied his scraps in the trash, put his dishes in the dishwasher, and headed to his room. He grabbed a few books and headed toward Bartowski's room.

He got there, looked around, not finding anyone. He walked over, and sat in the seat beside Chuck's bed, noting that it felt warm.

"Bartowski, I don't know if you can hear me, but if you can… well… you've _gotta_ be bored. I don't have any of those superhero things you probably read but," and Casey pulled up the book in his hand. "This is _The Prince _by Machiavelli… good stuff in here." Casey felt something, a tingle, like he was being watched. He looked up and saw the camera, aimed toward him. That made sense, if something happened to Bartowski, they'd want to know who was with him. He stared at the camera for a moment longer and then began to read aloud.

}o{

_Five months ago_

Casey saw Sarah leave Bartowski's room through the monitor. He had begun to surveil the two CIA agents, and what they were doing nightly with Bartowski. He still had no idea what the two were doing, but now he was learning things. He felt guilty, but he quickly realized he had to do this, because it was affecting the team more than he realized.

Walker wanted a deep connection with someone, and Larkin was scared he was going to shit the bed on the regular. He had even gone so far as to break it off with Walker, because he knew he couldn't be what she needed. Listening to Larkin gave him an idea, and he quickly headed down the hall to put his idea into place.

He cleared his throat, giving Larkin some warning, and entered the room.

"Casey, something wrong?" Larkin asked.

"Just wondering what you're doing here, Larkin?" Casey replied, wondering how much Larkin would tell him.

"Ellie said that sometimes he responds to voices, so I was telling him how his intel saved a lot of lives tonight," Bryce explained. He stood up. "Getting tired, heading to bed."

Casey stood there, studying Bartowski, wondering himself how much the nerd heard, processed, and knew. "Do you think it does help?"

Bryce shrugged. "No idea, but if it does, don't we owe it to him for all he's done for us… don't we owe it to him for the greater good he's served?"

Casey nodded. Bryce walked off, and Casey sat down beside Chuck. "Good God, the ladyfeelings you must hear every night from those two." He sat there. "I bet you'd talk my damn ear off if you could." Casey looked up at the camera, feeling like eyes were peering back at him. "I thought I was the odd man out on this team, but it turns out this A team is nothing but a bunch of damn misfits. One of us has a boyfriend that's in a coma, the other has a best friend that's in a coma, and I'm over here reading to your ass, like you can hear any of this."

The silence hung there for a bit. "Christ, Bartowski, how the hell all of this doesn't wake you up, and make you get up and walk out of here, I'll never know." They sat there quietly for some time. "I don't know how to say this without sounding like a jerk, but some say that's what I do best. I'm glad you're here, because they need someone to talk to." Casey stood, and walked to the door. "Hell, we both know I do, too."

With that, he walked out.

}o{

_Four days earlier_

Casey walked in, went to the table beside Chuck's bed. He reached down to the third drawer and opened it. Finding an earbud, he put it in, and clicked it on.

"Damn it, Bartowski!" There was no response. "I know you're talking to them."

"How?" came the reply, and Casey smiled. "Shit," the voice muttered. "You've been watching on the surveillance."

"Bartowski, she can't kill Ryker," Casey began.

"I know, Chuck muttered.

"Larkin _physically_ cannot kill Ryker," Casey continued.

"I know," Chuck muttered.

"I have to," Casey finished.

"I know," Chuck said, resignation in his voice.

}o{

_The Night of the Mission_

"Talked her out of it yet?" Casey asked.

"Nope," Chuck replied. "She's getting a little testy right now, thought I'd give her some space."

"It's not like she would kick your ass or anything," Casey said with a shrug. "Tell me something… you gonna take her out when you get out of that bed?"

"Casey, you of all people should know I'm not getting out this bed," Chuck began.

"Negative, Bartowski," Casey said, the sureness in his voice overwhelming. "You _will_ get your ass out of that bed, dress decently, and take her out."

"Let's say I can… it would take months for me to even be able to walk," Chuck countered.

"You'd have a hell of an incentive," Casey muttered. He felt Bartowski blush, even though he was hundreds of miles away. "She needs you."

"No, she needs her team."

"And I don't know if you've noticed, but you're the heart and soul of this team… even though you are in a coma in a hospital bed," Casey said, shaking his head. "Did you get all ten men tagged?"

"Yep, files on your hard drive now," Chuck said. "You don't have to take the shot, you know. You matter, too."

"Keep it up, and _I'm_ going to kick your comatose ass," Casey growled.

"Casey," Chuck began.

"Stuff it kid," Casey said. "Now, do your part."

"Okay," Chuck replied, surly, and then he went quiet. A little bit later Casey heard the com spring to life. "It's a go," Chuck told him, resignation in his voice.

"Walker," Casey said over the com. "Do you have him in the kill zone?"

"That's affirmative, Casey," Sarah replied. "Do I have a go?"

There was silence for a few moments as Casey double checked his scope. He clicked off the team. "Bartowski, we good?"

"As ready as we're gonna be Casey," Chuck replied.

"You have a go," Casey finally said.

"Copy that," Sarah answered.

There were a few moments of silence. "I'm here," Chuck said into Casey's ear. Casey took a deep breath, and let it out, regulating his breathing. He put his finger on the trigger, found Ryker in the scope, took another deep breath, and let it out slowly, counting his heartbeats, timing his trigger squeeze to come between beats.

Birds took flight into the night sky, the stillness interrupted by the crack of rifle fire. Back at Castle, as Ellie heard it all go down, she swore she saw Chuck's body flinch at the sound of the rifle's report.

* * *

A/N: The idea for this story hit me thinking about what Sarah said to Chuck during vs the Zoom about how he was the heart of this team without the intersect. I'd like to think again, he has managed somehow to be the heart of the team all while lying in a hospital bed. I'm not sure if I pulled off what I meant to, but I think I did. Now…*exasperated sigh* WHAT? Oh, I didn't say if Casey actually pulled the trigger? Funny how that keeps happening. Reviews, PM, whatever, all appreciated.


	6. Ch 6, Team Moron

A/N: Do you know who shot Ryker? (No MySongStory it wasn't Chuck!)

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck

* * *

"Chuck, are you okay?" Ellie asked.

A groan came through the Bluetooth speakers. "I am. Those idiots all shut off my earbuds at once."

"Did that hurt?" she asked, confusion apparent on her face.

"No, but those idiots think they can each do this alone, and they have missed my entire point," Chuck said. "What?" he asked, watching her grin.

"I've missed you little brother, and hearing your voice…" She shrugged, a happy smile on her face.

"Missed you, Elle," Chuck replied. "But, I need your help before those three do something even stupider."

"Tell me what to do," Ellie said.

}o{

The three stood around Ryker's body, the bullet hole in his forehead and the missing part of the back of his head making it unnecessary to ask if he was alive. "Good shot, Sarah," Bryce said softly.

"Yeah," Sarah said, looking from Casey to Bryce.

"What?" Casey asked gruffly.

"You three are really gonna try this, huh?" Chuck asked over the com. They all reached towards Chuck's earpiece, and they each paused looking at each other. "I hopped on the other coms. You each know that I am talking to you."

"You told them?" Sarah asked.

"I thought this was between us," Bryce said.

"Numbnuts, I've been watching surveillance of you two for weeks," Casey grumbled.

They all looked from one to the other. "Apparently the _A_ in the A-Team stands for _assclowns,_ because that's how you three are acting." They all gasped. "What, are you gonna beat up my non-moving body?"

"That was a bit harsh, buddy," Bryce muttered.

"Well, it's also stupid that you aren't opening up to your team," Chuck continued. Sarah and Casey glanced at Bryce. "That this is killing you, your believing that you're the weak link, when you're not. There _is_ no weak link. You all have flaws."

"I don't have any flaws," Casey muttered. The other two turned to him and gave him a look. "Okay, so let's say I do. Why'd you let me shoot him?"

"Because you're the only one with the damn training to handle it, and successfully compartmentalize it," Chuck replied. "You have been taught skills, and know that taking a life is sometimes for the greater good. It doesn't affect you, like it does these other two."

"Chuck," Sarah began.

"Oh for the love of God, Sarah, they know why you come see me every day. They both know about it!" Chuck said, exasperated. The two men looked at Sarah and shrugged. "Casey comes and talks over strategy with me. Bryce worries he's not good enough. And I'm Sarah's sounding board."

"You're more than that," she muttered. Bryce glanced at Casey, who was trying not to appear nauseous.

"Ladyfeelings," Casey muttered.

"I guess the question is, how does _Sarah_ feel about having a boyfriend that can talk back?" Bryce asked, smirking.

"She'll probably dump him now," Casey replied.

"I'm not dumping him," Sarah retorted.

"Oh… so he _is_ your boyfriend?" Bryce asked.

"Bryce, enough of this," Chuck began.

"No, enough of this," Bryce said pulling out his earpiece. The other two reached up and did the same. Bryce pulled out his phone as the other two matched him, laying them on a table. They left all of their electrical items in the room, and found another room in the house that had no devices he could possibly commandeer and listen in on them.

"We gotta pay Bartowski back for what he did," Casey said, a grin on his face.

"What do you have in mind?" Sarah asked. Casey's grin just grew.

}o{

"Seriously?" Ellie asked. The team had gotten back to her, and was making their way home. They had told her nothing, not that she was surprised. After what Chuck had done, she suspected they felt a little bit like they had been duped. Chuck had gotten her to set up a Bluetooth projector, and now an animated 16-bit Chuck Bartowski was displayed on the wall.

"What? You don't like the classic look?" he asked with a smile. Ellie smiled at him, a tear in her eye. She didn't have him all the way back yet, but he was close. "Besides, this is much easier to make and to move."

"Is there a Sarah you could make, to practice kissing with?" Ellie asked, an eyebrow raised.

"_What?!_" he exclaimed. He began to shake his head vigorously, as only animated people could. "No. Absolutely not."

"So that's you, made with current graphics?" Chuck's eyebrows nearly shot off his animated head. "Little brother, you like her." Chuck shrugged, his cheeks turning bright red, like an overcompensating cartoon.

"I mean, she _is_ pretty amazing," Chuck said shyly, his hands in his pockets and kicking at the floor.

"You might not want to let them see this, until you get better control over your avatar," Ellie said. "When she walks in, your eyes are going to change to hearts and pulsate out of your head, at the rate you're going."

"Hi," came a voice from the doorway. "I'm Gertrude Verbanski. John Casey called me and asked for a favor."

"I'm Ellie Bartowski," Ellie said. "How'd you get in?"

"I was given clearance by John," she said with a shrug.

"He's supposed to run this stuff by me," Ellie fumed. "What can we do for you?"

"Oh, you can't do anything," Gertrude said with a grin. "It's what I can do for _him_."

}o{

"I'M DYING!" yelled 16-bit Chuck, flipping into the air, turning somersaults and then landing on his back, daggers where his eyes were.

"Quit being a baby," Gertrude said, flexing his legs again.

"I haven't used these muscles like this in years!" Chuck protested. "I'M DYING!" He turned into an angel, and floated off the screen.

"And you're also overly melodramatic," Ellie muttered.

"Oh, he's probably hurting like hell," Gertrude admitted. "And I'm sorry, but this is the only way to get him back into shape when he comes out of this thing."

"Gertrude, you can stop," Chuck said, his voice resigned. "I'm not coming out, we can't figure this out."

"But your father can," Sarah said, entering the room. Chuck's avatar quickly ran his fingers through his hair and straightened his shirt, making Sarah grin. "Well, aren't you a cutie?"

Chuck's avatar went bright red, shyed away, and waved a hand at her. "Staaapp," he said.

"You're getting out of that bed, Chuck, and then… then, you and I are going on a date," Sarah said. Chuck's eyes then did exactly what Ellie had warned him about.

"And then she'll take you back to bed," Casey muttered walking in. Chuck's eyes popped out of his skull and flew around the screen. "Christ, Bartowski, keep it in your pants… er… your head."

"We find Orion, Gertrude exercises you, you get to live again. It's only fair, given what you did for us," Bryce added, joining the group. "We're the A-Team, and we need our leader. That's you."

"Can I hold his hand while you do that?" Sarah asked, watching Gertrude.

"Anything, if it will shut him up." Gertrude said. She glared at 16-bit Chuck, but everyone knew she really wasn't being serious. Chuck's avatar stuck his tongue out at her. Sarah came over and took his hand. Chuck's avatar was suddenly lying on a cloud, his face on his fists, kicking his legs in the air lazily, smiling like a fool.

"Christ," Casey said, and left. Bryce chuckled, and followed him.

"That was pretty amazing what you did today, Chuck," she said, talking to the avatar.

"No more amazing than the people I work with," Chuck replied, still smiling goofily.

"Just so you know, there are some muscles I will _not_ be exercising," Gertrude informed Sarah.

"HI-YO!" Chuck yelled, as his avatar zipped off of the top of the screen.

"I think you broke him," Sarah said, laughing.

"I think you fixed him," Gertrude replied. Sarah didn't say anything. He had fixed her, so it seemed only fair that she did the same.

* * *

A/N: That was fun. To clarify, Casey shot Ryker. Reviews, PMs, smokesignals, finger guns, always welcomed. Take care of yourself, and I'll see you soon.

DC


	7. Ch 7, The Hunt for Orion

A/N: I know 16-bit Chuck was silly, but good grief was that fun. What? You say we're still at home, with nothing to do….more fun!

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck.

* * *

"Okay, now spin around," Sarah said, watching the avatar in the suit.

"I feel like you're checking out my backside there, Miss Walker, although I'm not sure it has that muscle mass in real life," 16-bit Chuck said, shaking his derriere. "YEOWCH!"

"Oh, quit being a baby," Gertrude mumbled, bending his leg to stretch his quad.

"Im'a dyin' I tell ya! DYIN'!" 16-bit Chuck screamed, suddenly in a hospital gown for some reason.

"Uh, the back isn't closed," Gertrude snickered.

16-bit turned bright red, and zoomed up off the screen. Sarah turned to Gertrude, amusement on her face.

"Why'd you do that? Now I can't see," she faux-whined.

"Oh, he'll be back," Gertrude replied.

"Yeah, but not in the gown with the slit up the backside," Sarah said. "Bye Chuck," she said, blowing a kiss at him. "I'll see you later." With that she walked out. As she did a door appeared on the wall display. It opened, and an impishly grinning Chuck, dressed in his nerd herd outfit, walked out.

"Why does your avatar wear that outfit?" Gertrude asked.

"I worked there during school summers, and I always felt at home there. Like I wasn't a freak," Chuck replied with a shrug. "You think she really likes me, and not just feel sorry for me?"

"Nope, I think that girl's in love with you," Gertrude replied, stretching his leg. Chuck never noticed. 16-bit was too busy, staring at the door through which Sarah had just departed, with hearts in his eyes… literally.

}o{

"Soooooo," Ellie said, sliding into a chair beside Sarah in the cafeteria. "How's it going?"

"Ellie, you _do_ know that I'm aware you're fishing for information about your brother, right?"

"You thought I was trying to play it cool, be sneaky?" Ellie asked. "Sarah, you need to know this about Bartowskis. We are who we are, we aren't ashamed of it, and that's never going to change."

"Good," Sarah replied with a grin. She grabbed her tablet. "So, I have searched and searched for your father, and I think I might have found him." Ellie perked up. "The problem is, I don't know how to approach him, without scaring him."

"Dad?" Ellie said, and snorted a laugh. "Oh, he is _so_ gonna be spooked. The only way he wouldn't be…" She trailed off. "I have an idea." Sarah's eyes widened.

}o{

_Somewhere in a desert in California_

"Are you sure this is it?" Ellie asked. They looked at a mobile home, crowned with three satellite dishes. Low scrub surrounded it, scrabbling an existence from the arid dust, but to Sarah's practiced eye, she could see where there _might_ be intrusion detection systems hidden in the dry vegetation.

"I'm not sure, but I'm fairly confident… Ellie, what are you doing?"

Ellie marched toward the door, a confident, yet irritated look on her face. She knocked on the door and when it opened, Sarah heard anger she had never before heard from Ellie Bartowski.

"_Pancakes!_" she said, staring at her father. "You went out for _pancakes!_"

"Oh boy," Stephen replied.

}o{

Twenty minutes later, Sarah had Ellie calmed, and Stephen relatively calmed. "This is a bad idea, you two being here," Stephen began again.

"Dad, we had no choice; it's for Chuck," Ellie tried to explain without getting angry.

"Charles?" he asked.

"Yes, dad, Chuck. He's in a coma."

"What?" Stephen asked, standing. "How?"

"Chuck and I built an Intersect," Ellie began.

"That's great, it works?" Stephen asked.

"Sort of," Ellie replied, wringing her hands. "The idiot uploaded it."

"Is he okay… wait, did you say he's in a coma?" Stephen asked. Ellie nodded. "And he's been that way since he uploaded it, hasn't he?" Ellie nodded again. Stephen stood up quickly and walked to the back of the trailer.

"Do you think this will work?" Sarah asked.

"He's our only hope," Ellie replied.

Stephen returned, wearing a foil hat and carrying a suitcase. "We should wait until dark, they'll have a harder time tracking us."

Sarah looked at Ellie. "Our _only _hope?" Sarah asked. Ellie nodded. Sarah looked back at Stephen. "Okay."

}o{

"Well, it's screwed up," Stephen said, looking at the code and straightening.

"I know it's screwed up. That's why I'm like this," 16-bit replied.

"And why exactly are you like _that_?" Stephen asked.

"I don't know… it just kind'a worked," Chuck replied with a shrug.

"Do you two mind focusing on how to fix this?" Ellie asked, exasperated.

"You think we're not focusing?" Stephen asked.

"Chuck," Sarah said sweetly. 16-bit zipped across the room to her. "Listen, if you can figure out how to get out of that coma, we could go on a real date, and do other stuff."

"O-O-Other… _Stuff_?" 16-bit asked, his eyebrows a foot above his head. Sarah nodded. "Hold hands?" he squeaked. She nodded, and the eyebrows went higher. He opened his mouth several times and couldn't speak.

"Kiss," Sarah said, and Chuck was gone. He was by his father.

"Listen, we gotta figure this out, RIGHT NOW!"

"Calm down, Son," Stephen began.

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!"

"Chuck," Sarah said, making him turn to her. She blew him a kiss, and walked out of the room.

"DAD!"

}o{

"They think they've figured it out," Ellie said, a look of worry on her face. Sarah smiled. "There are risks."

"Then we won't do it," Sarah replied.

"Sarah… at some point…" Ellie couldn't finish the sentence.

"He'll… he'll…" tears were in Sarah's eyes, as Ellie nodded. The two rushed together, holding each other.

"We're not losing him… Sis," Ellie said. Sarah hugged her even harder.

}o{

She sat there, holding his hand, looking at 16-bit. "So it's do this, or…"

"Yep," 16-bit said, turning into a gravestone.

"Chuck," she said in a tone that made him immediately transform back into 16-bit.

"Sorry," he replied. She stood, and stroked his hair, bent over and gave him a kiss on the lips.

"Chuck, I need you to come back to me," Sarah told his body. 16-bit moved beside her, watching. "I need you to come back."

"But we've never been together, Sarah," he said. She raised her head, and looked 16-bit right in his eyes. He swallowed, and turned fire engine red.

"Chuck, our hearts have, and damn it…" She shook her head. "I can't spend the rest of my life questioning if I love you."

"Love me?" he asked, sticking his finger _deep_ into his ear, until it came out the other end, like he had misheard. "_Love me?!_"

"I love you, Chuck. Come back to me." She bent, kissed him again, and left the room.

"DAD!" 16-bit yelled. Stephen stuck his head in the room. "Let's run the simulation _one_ more time."

}o{

"Are you ready son?" Stephen asked. 16-bit gave a salute. "Okay-"

"Dad, wait," Ellie said. "How sure are you about this?"

"About ninety-five percent," Stephen replied.

"DAD!" Ellie yelled.

"Ellie, we don't have time to run trials, we don't have the luxury of doing what I should have done way back when," 16-bit explained.

Ellie nodded. "You better come back to me, because I'll be _damned_ if I have to tell your girlfriend that you're dead."

"Understood," 16-bit replied. "Guess this is the last time you'll see me." He looked down at himself. "I make this look _goooood_." Ellie chuckled. "See you all in a few, okay?" He saw Sarah standing in the doorway. "Would… would you hold my hand?" Sarah gave him a sad smile, and nodded. She walked over and took his hand. "Just so I'm clear, when I wake up, we can still do this?"

"This, and more," she replied.

16-bit stared at Stephen. "Are you _sure_ we have this right?"

"I told you, ninety-five percent!"

16-bit turned back to Sarah. "Wait for me."

"Come back to me," she replied. He nodded, turned to Stephen, nodded, and waved goodbye.

"Okay, removing the Intersect… _now_." Stephen pressed a button, and Sarah watched Chuck's eyes move under the lids. "This is an interesting setup you have for him, Ellie," Stephen said. "When he wakes up, I'd love to study it… more…" He trailed off as he turned, seeing his daughter, and the look she was giving him. "You know what, let's just get him awake."

The program beeped, and Sarah looked over at the computer. _100% Removal_ the screen read. "Now what?" she asked.

"Talk to him," Stephen said.

"Chuck?" She asked. "Chuck, can you hear me?"

"No activity on the brainwaves," Ellie replied.

"Okay, let's give him at least half an hour, and we'll upload the corrected Intersect into him. That should restart his motor functions, and allow him to reset himself."

"I'm not loving these _shoulds_, Dad," Ellie growled.

}o{

"Sarah, you don't have to hold his hand the whole time," Ellie said gently. Sarah turned to Ellie and saw the grin on the brunette's face. "I'm not saying you can't, you just don't _have_ to."

"I want to," she said. "He was there for me in my darkest hours, listening. He got this whole team on the same page. The least I can do is hold his hand."

"Where are the other two?" Ellie asked. Sarah jerked her thumb up to the cameras, making Ellie chuckle. "They're legit watching?" Sarah nodded. "Why aren't they in here?"

"Don't want to cry if something goes wrong?" Sarah offered. Ellie shook her head.

"You two ready?" Stephen asked.

Sarah bent down to Chuck's ear. "You better come back to me, Chuck Bartowski. There are so many more things we have to talk about." She straightened, and looked from Ellie to Stephen, both with approving smiles. "Let's do this."

Stephen nodded, and pushed a button. Chuck's body jerked, and his eyes began to move again. Sarah held on tight to Chuck's hand. After a few minutes, the jerking stopped. Ellie, Sarah, and Stephen watched Chuck, but there was no movement.

"Chuck?" Sarah asked. "Chuck, come back to me." She squeezed his hand, but there was no response.

"I don't understand," Stephen said, turning to the machine.

"Dad, there is nothing on the brainwaves!" Ellie said.

"I don't understand," Stephen muttered, typing into his computer. Ellie went over to try and comprehend what was going on.

Sarah bent forward, tears falling, not noticing the monitor with the brain activity. "Damn it, Chuck. Come back to me. I love you." She pulled his hand to her lips and gave it a kiss. "I love you." She began to cry, turning his hand and resting her cheek on it.

His fingers began to slowly caress her cheek. "You have to come… back," she said, her words halting, realization setting in. She yanked her head up and stared into the two most beautiful orbs she had ever seen. "Hi," she said tentatively.

"Hi," he replied, his voice scratchy. Ellie spun, and grabbed her dad's arm. Stephen turned, confused, and then saw. Chuck and Sarah never noticed them. As far as they were concerned, they were the only two in the room.

* * *

A/N: You didn't think he wouldn't wake up, did you?


	8. Ch 8, Among The Living

A/N: I'm not sure how much more this one has either. I kinda thought last chapter might be it, but then I had a thought about 16 bit Chuck and Sarah….I shouldn't do that, right? RIGHT?

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck

* * *

"Where are we going?" Stephen asked, as Ellie pulled him toward the door. "Don't you have to take his vitals, or something?"

"He's fine, Dad. I can do that later," Ellie said, giving him a look.

"But-" Stephen protested.

"_Dad!"_ Ellie snapped, dragging Stephen out of the room.

}o{

"Sorry," Chuck began to say. He cleared his throat, his voice a horse whisper. "Sorry if I scared you. If I'm honest, I scared _me_."

"Well, quit doing that, buster," Sarah said, grinning at him, feeling his hand against her cheek. "You got someone else to think about now."

He started to talk, winced and pointed at her with his other hand. "Mmmhmm," she said in a hum. Chuck smiled at her, and tried to sit up. "Let me help." She helped him sit, and raised the head of his bed.

"Thanks," he got out.

"Does it look the same as it did?" Chuck turned to her, confusion on his face. "The room, me, everything. Does it look the same as when you were… you know," and she twirled her hand to indicate how he had observed everything.

"You're more beautiful than I could process," he said. She ducked her head, and started to talk, when she was cut off.

"CHUCKSTER!" Devon said walking in. "Uh… we actually haven't met."

"Oh, we've met," Chuck replied, turning red. Sarah looked from one to the other.

"I've been taking care of the Chuckster's… uh…" Devon paused, an impish grin on his face.

_"Oh!"_ Sarah replied.

"Bathing, bodily fluids…" Devon began.

"Got it," Sarah replied, as Chuck turned redder.

"Don't need bed sores, or anything like that," he went on.

"Got it," Sarah said, Chuck turning redder than a tomato.

"Body does what it does," he finished.

"Jesus," Sarah muttered, Chuck having turned a new shade of red that no one knew existed.

}o{

"But I can walk," Chuck insisted. Gertrude and Devon exchanged looks, as Sarah walked into the room. "Tell them, Sarah."

A few days had passed since Chuck had awakened. Today, he insisted on walking down the hallway to the cafeteria. "Tell them what, Chuck? That your legs miraculously work?"

"Hey," he began.

"That after lying in bed all that time, suddenly you're gonna be able to walk down that hallway?"

"That's not nice," Chuck said, a look of hurt on his face.

"Chuck, you told all of us stuff that wasn't _nice._" Sarah reminded him. He pressed his lips together, slightly sulking, knowing she was telling the truth. "If you want to try and walk, I will help you walk as far as you can go, and when you can't go any further, I'll push you in your wheelchair."

"So, I can't even do that?" Chuck asked. He sat up. "I mean, I'm not pouting on this one, I'm asking… can I?"

"Not for long," Gertrude replied. "But, if you want to try, I am all for that. It's just I don't want you to wear out, and Devon to have to feed you."

Chuck's eyes went wide.

"I'll feed you if someone needs to," Sarah offered.

"How about I roll myself back?" he asked as a compromise. Sarah smiled at him.

"And take it easy on the food, huh, buddy?" Devon said.

"I just want to eat," Chuck protested.

"Chuckster, you've been on liquid for so long… you're aware what that solid food will do to you right?" Devon began.

"Oh, Jesus," Sarah muttered, knowing what was coming. By the look on Chuck's face, he did not.

"Changing diets like that, and what it will do to your bowels?" Devon continued. Chuck's eyes saucered, and his face began to redden.

"And, given how you don't move that fast, we'll be lucky to get you to the portable toilet in time," Devon continued, oblivious to Chuck, Gertrude, and Sarah.

"DEVON!" Sarah yelled, pulling him out of the conversation. She looked over at Chuck, who had rediscovered this new color of red. "He gets it. Why don't you go with us, and get his food?"

"Can I have a piece of toast?" Chuck asked.

"One," Devon said, and then glanced at the portable toilet. Chuck nodded.

}o{

"I'm freaking exhausted," Chuck admitted, after having rolled himself out of the cafeteria and a little way down the hall. He looked up at her. "Listen, I don't hold you to anything." She came around in front of the chair, and knelt down in front of him. "Sarah, I have no stamina, I have no muscle mass, I have nothing."

"Apparently your brain died when we brought you back," Sarah replied, giving him a bit of a glare. His eyes went wide. "You moron," she began.

"That's what Casey calls me," he argued.

"Moron," Casey said, walking by, shaking his head.

"How does he do that?" Chuck asked. He felt a hand take his jaw, and turn it towards Sarah's face. A grin crossed his features.

"Uh, why exactly are you grinning?" Sarah asked, now beginning to worry about his brain.

"Because you're touching my face, and you don't know how long I've waited for this," he said.

Tears formed in her eyes. "You listen to me, Chuck Bartowski; I am going to help you. We will get your muscles working, and we will work on your… _stamina._" She saw Chuck swallow thickly. "Whatever you're thinking when I said that… go with it." Sarah was wrong about how red Chuck had gotten previously, regarding the things Devon said. His redness now was off the charts.

}o{

"So I want to test something with you two," Stephen said. It was a few days later, and he had been tinkering with something, not really talking to anyone. "I think, using what Chuck figured out, I can make glasses that can do the same thing Chuck did with his 16-bit self."

"That would be useful," Sarah replied. "Able to scout things out."

"Right," Stephen said. "I made two, one for you and one for Chuck. I thought maybe he would be able to walk you through how to use them, and then you could figure out how they're useful."

"Are they safe?" Sarah asked. Stephen winced. "Have they been tested?"

"I used them," Stephen said.

Chuck gave Sarah a look. She shrugged, and held out her hand. They both put the glasses on. Sarah found herself looking at 16-bit Chuck in his nerd herd uniform. Chuck's eyes were bulging out of his head.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"You're… you're… you're wearing a Weinerlicious outfit!" he finally got out. She looked around and had an idea. "A lightbulb just popped up over your head."

"How do we go to my room?" Sarah asked.

"Just imagine you're there," Chuck replied, shrugging. Suddenly he was alone. "Where'd she go?"

"Probably to her room," Stephen said.

"Oh," Chuck replied and then disappeared. Chuck appeared in her room, and noticed that there was a 16-bit bed, with 16-bit candles. "Uh…"

"Tell me something… Chuck," she said, emphasizing the _k_. Chuck turned to her, his eyes shooting out, his jaw dropping, and his tongue rolling across the floor. Sarah was standing there in purple lingerie. "Are we like Ken and Barbie down there?"

Chuck couldn't respond, and a grin covered Sarah's face. "I've already checked," she said in a low voice. She reached up and pulled down a curtain, obscuring the whole scene.

"WHO'S YOUR MOMMA!" he yelled.

}o{

_Six months later_

"I'm exhausted," Chuck said, as Sarah snuggled against him.

"So am I," she purred, running a hand through her hair. She glanced up at the clock. "Oh my God, it's after 5 am."

"You have somewhere to be?" he asked, a smirk on his face.

"Yeah, right here," she replied. After the night in her 16-bit room, Chuck worked like a madman. He never complained, shocking Gertrude and Casey. Every time he seemed to be faltering, Sarah mysteriously appeared, carrying a pair of glasses, and Chuck doubled down.

When he wasn't working out, he and Sarah began to build a 16-bit video game called "The A Team (not that one)." Bryce commented that he thought the two main characters looked familiar, but loved the concept. The game was currently undergoing final approval to launch in the next few weeks.

"How'd you like to be here permanently?" Chuck asked, looking down at her. She gave him a confused look. "I know this isn't romantic, but it seems a lot of our big moments have come with me in a bed…" he grinned, "…exhausted."

She chuckled, and lightly slapped his chest. She noticed it had picked up some serious definition.

"Marry me," he said.

"Yes," she replied.

"Really?" he asked. She nodded. "Thank you, Sarah, you've just made me the happiest I've ever been. If I wasn't so exhausted…" he trailed off, chuckling. Sarah rolled over, opened the nightstand drawer, and pulled out two pair of glasses. "Woman," he said, as he caught the pair she tossed at him. They both slid them on.

* * *

A/N: I think that did it. Hope you liked it!


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